


Ready as I'll Ever Be

by Kealpos



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F, F/M, Other, Possession, This is based off of a song from Tangled: The Series, Water Spirit, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-29 23:05:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14483163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kealpos/pseuds/Kealpos
Summary: “Believe me, I get that I’ve sunk pretty low, but whatever I’ve done you deserve,” Jeremy growled from his work table, pulling the welding mask up to the top of his head.“Jeremy, seriously-” She tried, but he just whipped around and yelled “Quiet!” at her. Chloe shut up.





	Ready as I'll Ever Be

**Author's Note:**

> this is dedicated to jeremy michael jordan and my uncontrollable lust for him amen

“Any moment now,” Jeremy muttered, or maybe it was Him? His eyes were glowing bright blue, visible even behind his welding mask, and there were bright, white marks lining up and down his arms. He turned his head slightly to look at the figure who sat next to him, her arms pulled behind her back as she tried to get herself as close to Jeremy as possible. She couldn’t get quite far, considering both her wrists were were shackled and chained to the wall.  
Jeremy spat at the ground in front of her before hissing, “Your majesty.”

Chloe Valentine tugged at her shackles once again, and stared up at him, her face crossed into a pained, angry expression. There was a slight bruise where her face had hit when she was knocked out and sent down onto the ground. Her wrists felt raw from the shackles digging in. Her dress, purple and covered with decoration sewn specifically for her lover’s birthday, was getting covered with dust and dirt. If anything, her crown looked fine.

“Believe me, I get that I’ve sunk pretty low, but whatever I’ve done you deserve,” Jeremy growled from his work table, pulling the welding mask up to the top of his head.  
“Jeremy, seriously-” She tried, but he just whipped around and yelled “Quiet!” at her. Chloe shut up. He sighed, regaining control over himself, and set the mask on the table. “So, I’m the bad guy? Okay, that’s fine.”

Jeremy’s voice cracked. He was trying to convince both Chloe and himself. At least there was still hope he was in there. True Jeremy, not this fake person Chloe had seen since he stormed into the castle and insisted they had to check the cave he had found. He had to be.

-

Christine came into the home slowly, looking around nervously. She tightened the ribbon that held her hiked up skirt up away from the ground and Michael could see her barefoot toes wiggling. She never did like wearing shoes. He eyed a stay nail in her path and he kicked it away before she stepped on it and got tetanus or something.

“So, you mix it with base F and pack it in a ball and wait a few hours to settle, and boom! Sleepy time!” Jeremy Heere, the young alchemist of the extra peasant village exclaimed, making jazz hands. He was leading both Christine Canigula, the princess of the kingdom and her close friend slash supposed fiance, Michael Mell, into his place. The princess, gosh! Christine had come asking for a sleeping fog potion thing so she could escape the kingdom for a little bit for official business the rest of the kingdom was keeping her from, apparently.

“Cool!” Christine replied, looking around excitedly. There was a lot of cool liquids and herbs and stuff around, and even a couple half-finished automatons scattered here and there. Michael just rolled his eyes. The kid seemed nice, but he didn’t really ‘get’ the whole alchemy thing. And Jeremy had insisted it be called alchemy rather than the wizardry stuff Michael had heard about. He was really cute, though.

Jeremy turned his head back and looked over his shoulder to grin at her, his face a little pink over the red spots that detailed his features. His hair was long and curly, and hung in front of his eye on one side, forcing him to push it away before turning back to what Michael presumed was his work table. He rummaged a bit before finally finding what he was looking for at handed Christine a glass ball with some sort of pink smoke? Liquid? Dust? It was hard to tell.

“That’s, uh, that’s the thing you need. Don’t trace it back to me if it gets you in trouble, please?” Jeremy asked, leaning his back against the table and grinning mischievously. His eyelashes were, like, mega-long, and Christine really wanted to tell him so.

“Of course,” she replied seriously, tucking the ball into a satchel Michael was carrying. “Do you make automatons?”  
His face lit right up at her question, if it wasn’t already light beforehand. “Yeah! I’m not just an alchemist; I’m an inventor too! I make stuff like potato peeling machines all the way up to automatons that I’m trying to get to hold up to a human in combat.” Jeremy stripped his right hand of his glove and pulled out a sharp knife from his apron, before approaching one of the more finished of the inventions.

“I always carry a weapon with this one, in case it wakes up again, heh.” His back had faced them, so he turned and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. “It’s a pretty good fighter against me.”

Christine nodded, and he looked ready to continue, but Michael intervened, sighing. “Chris, I really think we should go.”  
She frowned but shrugged sadly and Jeremy extended his hand for a handshake, but Christine came close and wrapped him in a hug, which took the kid aback. He didn’t object to it of course. Who could really resist the princess and her kindness?

-

Jeremy breathed deeply over his work table and gripped his arm, as if it was in pain.  
“It is no fault of mine I’m like this. It’s yours, and your family’s and your girlfriend’s!” He yelled the last word before turning to a ladder propped against one of his newest, deadliest creations. “At last, some justice will be served.”

“Jeremy, you have to listen!” Chloe cried out, trying to reach out to him. He ignored her, climbing the ladder.  
“It’s time to step up or it’s time to back down, and there’s only one answer for me,” Jeremy sighed, pulling a hammer out from his pocket and pushing a nail into the metal machine. “You really can’t stop me, Chloe. I’m standing up and I’m fighting, because I know that this is right. That I’m right.”

He stepped back down onto the floor and looked over at a pile of glass balls sitting just out of Chloe’s reach. Jeremy looked to the clock nearby as he counted to ten, and the balls one by one started changing from a striking red to a pink that somehow seemed devilish in its context. Right on time.

“And.. I’m ready. I’m not having second thoughts. I promise I’m ready,” he murmured to himself before locking eyes with Chloe, who breathed in and out heavily. She could feel her own heart beat quickly in her body. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”

-

Christine jumped apart from Chloe Valentine, who just looked away from the doorway bashfully. She straightened her back, smoothed out her skirt, and cleared out her throat before looking at the figure who just caught her, biting her lip.  
Jeremy Heere’s eyes were so wide.

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. He just caught Christine Canigula, like, princess slash sorta his friend slash probably engaged to Michael Mell, prince of the Pheomubia Kingdom, kissing Chloe Valentine, princess of the Pheomubia Kingdom (no relation to Michael, somehow).

“You-! You’re-! I-! Oh my god!” Jeremy stammered out, his mouth agape in surprise. Christine shushed him and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room and shutting the door. “I was just, I mean, I’m here to help with a presentation and the guy I’m helping sent me to find some cleaning supplies because he accidently spilled something and I heard noises down here so I went to check and-” He rambled on, and Christine looked over and stared at Chloe, who held her gaze, frowning.

“Jeremy,” Christine interrupted, and he shut up immediately. “What I’m about to say is really important, okay?”  
He snorted in reply. “When the princess of Verid is speaking directly to you, everything she says is important. But I’m listening.”  
Chloe rolled her eyes, but she ignored her. “You cannot tell anyone about this. Anyone. Anyone! The only people who know are Chloe, Michael, and my lady-in-waiting. You cannot mention anything like this to anyone but us, okay?”

Jeremy nodded quickly, still slightly dazed, and Chloe looked over at him. “Are you sure we can trust him? Isn’t he the wizard nobody knows anything about?”  
He glared over at her, crossing his arms and scoffed. “I’m not a wizard, I am an alchemist! A man of science. And I am trustworthy.” He turned his head back to Christine and frowned, his eyes soft. “I promise to keep this under wraps. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Christine smiled at him, embracing him in a tight hug. He looked over at Chloe and smiled at her with a question in his eyes. The corners of her lips twitched up at him and she nodded. If Christine trusted him, then.. So could she.

“By the way,” Christine added quietly. “I think Michael might like you.”  
“What!?”

-

Richard Goranski lay awake on the medical bed, most of his body wrapped up, and groaned. A fire had started in the guard wing, the kitchen, a tower, and one of the ballrooms. Rich and several others had gotten caught in the fires. Jake Dillinger, a super strong and tough baker who had been at the castle for the princess’s birthday had managed to pull them out, breaking his legs in the process of getting Rich out of the tower.

Michael frowned and shook his head in shock, unbelieving at the burns Rich had sustained. “Who’s going to lead the army without you?” Goranski was Captain of the guard, and without him..  
“I definitely can’t, but,” He said, accompanied with a little sigh. “I do know someone who can.” Rich’s eyes shot across the room to the girl he called one of his closest friends, dressed up in a lady-in-waiting dress.

Jenna Rolan felt all sort of eyes land on her and looked up confusedly. “Huh? Wait, wait, me?”  
Rich nodded and smiled at her as best he could, urging her to come closer. “You have trained with me since we were kids. You and I know the guard strategys better than anyone. Besides, I thought you were looking for your chance to do something for the royal guard.”  
She grinned before switching her expression into something hard and serious, and nodding, leaving to change into her armour.

“Jenna Rolan? The lady-in-waiting? Is she really the best choice to lead this?” A guard asked, not in mean spirit. Rich glared at them anyways.  
“Yes,” he replied firmly, the end of objections. A few moments later, the main doors opened to Jenna, a hard expression on her face.

“Men! I know you have your doubts about me, but we have to move past that. I have been training alongside many of you for years, and it finally time. It’s time for me to lead you. It’s time to rise up or it’s time to stand down, and the answer is easy to see.” She reached to her back and pulled out a sword strapped to her body, raising it high above her head. “I swear by the sword in my hand that we will win. If you are willing to fight, get on board. Are you ready?”

Michael looked over and pulled his own sword out of his scabbard, staring her in the eyes as he held it up. “I’m ready.”  
Several other men pulled out their own weapons, echoing Michael. The rest of the guard followed suit and Rich grinned proudly. Jenna looked around, and felt hope. And weight. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she murmured.

-

“Will one of you check out the cave with me? Please? I think something dangerous is going on.”

Jeremy Heere bit his lip, curling and uncurling his hands. He stood in front of Christine, Michael, Chloe, and Jenna, trying to just get them to help him. There was a cave system he had discovered while testing out one of fighting automatons, and something in the air had felt.. Wrong. Even just at the mouth of the cave.

“I can’t,” Christine said sympathetically. “There’s some issue with the play they’re putting on later this week, and I have to fill in for one of the actors. Rehearsal starts in a few minutes and I have to start figuring out the blocking they’ve known for weeks super fast! I would come help and find somebody else, but this is my big break! I am so sorry, Jeremy.”

He nodded, before looking at the others with puppy dog eyes.  
“I have to stay with her,” Jenna said, monotone.  
“I’m feeding her lines.” Michael shrugged.  
“I’m not allowed out at the village,” Chloe sighed.

Jeremy exhaled loudly, unbelieving. “Fine. I guess I’ll see you guys later.”  
Christine frowned at him. Something seemed wrong. She felt like something was going to go wrong. “Jeremy, if you stay and watch, we can all check it out together.”  
“I’m not a play person. Thanks, though.”

He turned and left, and Christine’s soul felt heavy. She had to stop Jeremy, she had to help him, she couldn’t let him go alone, she had to-  
“Christine,” Jenna said, interrupting her thoughts. “Let’s go. We’ll be late.”  
She watched his retreating form before nodding and following them in.

-

Christine heard a twig snatch and turned, moving into a fighting stance and holding her fists up,  
just like Jenna had taught her in their off-time. Brooke Lohst came into view and winded her eyes, holding up two hands. “Relax, it’s just me!”

Brooke Lohst was a guard who had snuck off to help the princess with the whole Jeremy situation. She was a sweetheart, but always said she’d had a bad feeling about him.  
“There you are!” Christine cried, moving forwards and jumping her in a hug.

After pulling her off, Brooke smiled and pulled out a sharp dagger and handed it to her. “I just had to stop and get something. Just in case.”  
“Sweet,” Christine replied, staring at the carvings in the handle.

“Are you sure we can do this?” Brooke asked nervously, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.  
Christine looked up, sensing the worry in her eyes, and smiled reassuringly. “Together? I guarantee.”  
She nodded and sighed, linking her arm with Christine’s. “Let's go, then.”

-

“Jesus christ, let me go!” Jeremy yelped, being pulled up by his shirt. He wriggled under Michael’s hand, the thing holding him up. Michael was only a few inches taller than him, but a lot stronger.  
“Listen, I just wanna know if that’s your machine messing up the weather,” he growled. Jeremy shook his head, freaked out. “Put me down, you dick!”

Jeremy finally kicked him in the chest and he dropped his, landing roughly on the ground. He winced before brushing the dirt off of his pants and standing back up angrily, Michael rubbing his chest in pain. “I didn’t mess with the stupid weather. Why are you assuming it’s my fault and not just our good ol’ mother nature?”

“You mentioned making a weather machine last time I visited?” Michael said questioningly, rolling his eyes.  
“I didn’t actually make it, asshole. I can show you the unassembled parts if you really need me to.”  
“Oh.”  
“Yeah, oh,” Jeremy replied, anger dripping from his voice. He turned back to his work table, and Michael frowned. He stepped forwards, noticing that the sleeves of his shirt were pulled down for once in the time he’d known Jeremy.

“What’s up with you, man? You’ve been acting weird since the cave thing.”  
“You just pulled me up by my shirt, Mell,” Jeremy replied, never even turning around to face him.  
“What happened at the cave?” Michael half yelled, grabbing Jeremy’s wrist and tugging at it, forcing Jeremy to face him. While turning him, some of his sleeve moved up, revealing weird marks on his arms.

Jeremy wrenched his arm out a Michael grip and glared at him, teeth bared, his eyes blazing angrily with some sort of scorching hot blue fire. Michael could only stare at the glowing white marks on his arm, which he immediately covered up.

“Get. Out,” Jeremy growled with a sort of venom that he had never heard from the young alchemist.  
“Jeremy, swear to god, please just tell me what’s happening with you!” Michael tried desperately, but rather than answer him, he shoved him roughly. Michael had never seen that from Jeremy either. The door slammed in his face, and he was left with fear and questions.

-

“I’ll make them hear me!” Jeremy yelled to nobody in particular, except for maybe Chloe, who was still chained up. He was lowering part of his machine into a stream that was linked to the main water source, breathing heavily. He grabbed all the pink glass orbs that sat next to Chloe and tucked them into a bag that was wrapped around his being. His plan was almost complete.

_They will_ , a voice seemed to hiss from the water, and Chloe could do nothing but sit back horrified. What was that?

-

The day of the play, Jeremy went back to the caves all alone. He ignored his fear and went inside. He had to do this.

-

Jenna gripped onto her horse for dear life, a team of guards following close behind her as they rushed to the spot Jeremy had said they would need to go in the hostage letter. They were so close.

‘I’ll prove that they can trust me,’ Jenna thought, hiding her face in the horse’s mane for just a moment.

-

The caves were dark. Jeremy brought a lantern, but it only barely seemed to help. It seemed like the darkness was eating the light. Until he arrived in a room in the cave, glowing green from the water in a small pool, a large mirror behind it.

-

“Are you ready?” Brooke asked, spotting the meeting place after she reached the top of the climb. Christine hoisted herself up and wiped tears out of her eyes. It was finally all hitting her. Chloe was taken, Jeremy had become the villain, and so much was riding on her shoulders.

Christine was silent for a few moments, taking in her own view of the place as the cool breeze blew her hair gently. “I’ll save my home and family.”

-

_illmakeyouamazingillgiveyoutherightlifeillmakeyouagodillhelpyoudiscoverthesecretsoftheuniverseillhelpyoubecomeking_ a voice from the pool whispered. _Drink the water_ , it compelled. And when he did that, it whispered _look in the mirror_. When Jeremy did, he saw himself and a figure next to him, whispering ideas in his ear. The spirit called itself _Squip_ , and it _promised would help him_.

-

“I’m ready,” Michael called from behind Jenna.  
“I’m ready,” Jenna echoed back.  
“I’m ready,” Christine said, following Brooke into the clearing with a river.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Jeremy grinned as a figure rose from the water, which was slowly becoming greener. The figure grinned, before collapsing back into the liquid. He then grabbed Chloe’s chains, shoved a gag in her mouth, and pulled her out until they were back on land. At the clearing.

The stood behind the river, which was fading into the color of the stream down in the place with the machine still running. Jeremy chained her to the door that they used to get out, and she struggled as he watched Christine and Brooke start to come down.

“Ladies! Welcome, I’m glad you two could make it!” Jeremy boomed in a loud, dramatic voice, and the two girl finally spotted him. They froze, until Christine saw Chloe. She then made a goblin freak out noise and ran down, stopping once she was facing Jeremy directly from the other side.

“Let her go!” Christine commanded, trying to sound official. She held up her chin and the dagger and tried to exert confidence. Jeremy stood there for a moment, silent, before laughing cruelly. Christine was.. A little taken aback.

His eyes were closed as he doubled over in laughter, as she stared as the white marks on his arms seemed to light up even more. Then, when he stood up and opened his eyes again, they were so blue and bright, a halo of light seemed to be forming around them.

“Christine, wow. So, anyways! Where’s the rest of your team?” Jeremy asked smugly. How could that be him though? He changed so much in less than a year. Christine just couldn’t understand him.

“They’re… They’re coming!” She said boldly, but she just felt like crying.  
“Oh yeah, I’m sure they’ll be a real help,” he replied, smiling condescendingly.

“We sure fucking will!” A voice cried from the entrance of the clearing. Jenna, Michael, and the rest of the guard held tall on their horses, both of Jeremy’s old friends brandishing swords. Jeremy just grinned brightly.

The guard galloped forwards, and both him and her swung off of their horses to stand next to Christine and Brooke. Chloe cried out, muffled through her gag, and Christine looked pained.

Michael looked so angry, and he showed it by charging at Jeremy, yelling. Jeremy didn’t looked worried, he even seemed sort of delighted. As soon as his feet hit the green river water, the liquid rose up, pulling a surprised Michael up with him and hung him upside down.

Jeremy had a wild look in his eyes, staring at him. “I always knew I would sweep you off your feet,” he cooed happily.  
“Why, you-!” Michael shouted trying to throw his sword at him but missing.  
“Awww, babe! Alright, who’s next?”

The other three (and the guard) stood and stared, mouths agape, at Jeremy and the water. “He can,” Jenna said, horrified and slightly paled, “control water.”  
Christine felt like she was going to crumble, hearing Jenna get the guard to try and take him on like she was underwater. How could they defeat him?

“What do you want, Jeremy? Please, nobody has to get more hurt than we are right now,” Christine said sadly, her voice breaking not even halfway through. He stared at her, and it felt like he could see into her soul.  
“What do I want? What do I want!?” Jeremy yelled. “I want to be taken seriously! I want to be liked! I want more than surviving! The spirits of the old have spoken to me and shown me that it is you- all of you! -that keep me from that!” He was hysterical, he was inconsolable.

“I lost myself in that cave, and I-” Jeremy’s head dropped back and his voice changed. “I found a vessel.”  
The voice. That was the one that came from the stream, Chloe wanted to yell.

Jeremy’s head snapped back up, but his expression seemed empty. “The water will spread everywhere. The people will touch it, bathe in it, drink it. And they too will become vessals.”  
“No!” Christine cried, her eyes wide.  
“Yes! You will either leave under my control, or stay here forever, binded by death.” Jeremy’s body shrugged. “Your choice.”

The two had gotten so caught up, Christine had barely registered the guard swarming Jeremy. But as they had been speaking, Jeremy had been chucking the pink glass balls at the guard, trapping them and their horses in places. Even Jenna had gotten caught.

She, Brooke, and Jeremy were all that were left. “We have to surrender,” Christine whispered to her.  
“No,” Brooke whispered back firmly. “We have one more option.”

Christine felt her slip something into her dress pocket, and she remembered what is was. Earlier, in preperation, Christine had used an old formula that Jeremy had taught her.  
Oh god, oh god.

“Your highness,” Jeremy sing-songed from across the river. “Are you done choosing?”  
She locked eyes with him and took a deep breath. Christine slowly began to move towards him, finishing by walking across the river and bowing at his feet. “I surrender.”

Jeremy smirked at her, placing a hand on his hip. “Good choice.” He snapped his fingers on the other hand and the water from the river tunneled together and snaked in front of Christine’s face so that she would be able to drink. “Are you ready?” He asked, voice now completely monotone.

Christine looked up at him, slid her hand in her pocket and gripped the glass ball inside it, and hissed “Ready as I’ll ever be,” before pulling the glass ball out and throwing it against the ground, causing the dust inside to escape.

“What is this?” Jeremy cried as he watched the green swirl around them.  
“You mix base E with base F, pack it in a ball and wait a few hours to settle, and boom. Sleepy time.” Christine grinned victoriusly as his eyes widened. His own inventions used against him.

Jeremy yelled and screamed, but he fell first. With his vessel falling asleep, the spirit did too. The water holding Michael plopped down, and so did he.  
Christine had only a few minutes at most before she fell prey to the alchemy-induced exhaustion, so she shot forwards and got Chloe out of her bonds, quick.

As soon as the gag was out, Chloe started shouting instructions. “He tested the vessel thing on me to make sure the water worked! There’s an antidote in his lab! It’s red!”  
Brooke, still standing and hiding her face from the sleeping powder, nodded and pulled open the trap door to the lab before climbing down.

Christine hugged Chloe tight, crying into her shoulder. It was alright. It was alright.

She didn’t last long after that, and fell asleep in her reunited lover’s arms.

-

When Jeremy woke up, he started yelling. He felt like his brain had been cut apart and then put back together just a little bit different. But he felt better than he could remember feeling for the past couple weeks.

Once Jeremy stopped, he realized there were people surrounding his medical bed. He recognized Christine’s face hovering over him, and everything he did hit like a ton of bricks. He couldn’t stop himself from crying if he tried.

She held him as he sobbed, and held him as he apologized. He was sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry.  
But it was okay. He was ready to make up for it all.  
Ready as he would ever be.

**Author's Note:**

> i have a [tumble](http://www.don-lockwood.tumblr.com) where you can see me lust over jeremy jordan a lot
> 
> ALSO heres the [link to the song this is based on and also jeremy jordan sound SO hot in this fjdhzfdhfuwehfl;shfenfes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-PYYaoq0fY)


End file.
